


The Worst Halloween Ever

by PandaPantsLuvsU



Series: Survivor's Guilt [2]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Because they're literally children, But they're just besties for now, Childhood, Gen, Halloween, Halloween Special, Henry Laurens' A+ Parenting, I'm sorry it's late, John deserves none of this, Non-sexual Omegaverse, Omega Verse, Poor John, Potential buildup for Lams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 20:32:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12589996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandaPantsLuvsU/pseuds/PandaPantsLuvsU
Summary: Part of my Omegaverse series, Survivor's Guilt.John's favorite holiday has always been Halloween.His father knows just how to ruin it.





	The Worst Halloween Ever

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It's currently 1:50 in the morning and I'm watching my roommate paint a still life that's going to be worth more than my college tuition. But I digress.  
> Sorry it's technically a day late. I had all of my classes dump a mountain of homework on me and I had to take care of it. But I hope that you'll forgive me in the spirit of the holidays.  
> So this fic, in my opinion, is that moment when you go to the store on November 1st, hoping to score some marked down Halloween candy, just to find that they've only taken like, five percent off of the ticket price. But maybe I'm wrong.  
> Featuring Henry being an asshole. Even for Henry.

Dad wasn’t happy again.  He kept pacing the floor, talking on the phone.  John watched from the couch, paying more attention to this than the story Mama was reading to them.

“ _Veo un perro blanco, viendome a mí._ ”

Dad glanced over at Mama then closed his eyes for a second before leaving the room.

“ _Perro blanco, perro blanco, ¿qué vés ahí?_ ”

John turned back to them and leaned against Mama, looking at the page.  Junior touched the page delicately, tracing the dog with fascination.  “ _Oveja negra?_ ” he said.

“ _Sí,_ Junior.  " _Veo a una oveja negra, viendome a mí._ ”

Dad came back into the room shortly after they finished the story.  James pulled himself up in his playpen and said, “Da-da!”

“Very good, James,” Mama said with a proud smile.  Dad placed a hand on James’s head for a moment, then looked at Mama with a serious face.  She frowned, then handed the book to John and gave him a kiss on the forehead.  “Why don’t you take everyone upstairs and let James pick out a story this time?”

John knew this routine.  He picked James up and carried him up the steps carefully before setting him down and taking both of his hands, guiding him into Mama’s work room.  “Okay, Jamie,” he said.  “Pick out something for us to read.”

James looked at him, then at Marty.  “A book,” she said.  “ _Un libro_.”

James pointed at the book stand.  John moved him over to it.  “Pick a book.”

A beat.  Then James pointed at one.  John took it out and sat down on the rug.  James crawled over to him and sat down right next to him.  Marty and Junior followed suit.

“ _Buenas Noches, Luna_.”

“Jack, are Mama and Daddy mad at each other?” Marty asked.

John shook his head.  “They’re just talking.  I think it’s his job.”

Dad said that he was running, but not in a race.  In an election.  Like with the presidents, but not as important.  He didn’t like when John had said that.  The _Senate_ , he’d called it.

“Read the story,” Junior whined.

So John read to them.

* * *

 

John’s birthday came and went.  They had a small party that consisted of Frannie, Alex, Daniel, and Lafayette.  Dad didn’t like a lot of people in the house at once.  But that meant there was more cake for everyone.

His favorite part about his birthday wasn’t the cake or the presents or even the party.  It was that it was so close to his _favorite_ holiday of _all time_ : Halloween.

There was something about hanging up the window decorations while dancing around to the sound of _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ or _Hocus Pocus_ in the background.  Or maybe it was jumping into piles of leaves with Alex, Frannie, and Laf.  Or maybe it was the fact that he got to stay out late with his best friends in the world.  Or eating candy until his tummy hurt.  Or running around in his costume.  John couldn’t pick out the best part.

Mama hadn’t gotten him a costume yet.  That was fine.  He figured that they’d go shopping soon.  He already knew that he wanted to be a pirate, just like Alex.

“I want an eyepatch,” John said, bouncing giddily on the couch the day before Halloween.  “And a peg leg.  And a hat.  Oh!  And a bird.  Not a real one, though.  A fake one that you can just stick on your shoulder.  They have those, you know.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Dad asked, not even looking up from the newspaper.  It was okay, though.  John was too excited to care.

“For my Halloween costume!”

“You don’t need a costume.”

“Yes, I do.  You can’t go trick-or-treating without a costume.”

Dad sighed, folding the paper and putting it away.  “John.  You’re nine years old now.”

“Uh-huh.”  He crawled closer to Dad.  He didn’t try to sit in his lap, though.  Dad didn’t like it when John did that.

“That’s almost an adult.”

John wrinkled his nose.  “Only halfway.”

“Well, you’ve got a lot to learn.”  His father turned to him.  He was frowning.  He was _always_ frowning.  “So this year, you’re going to stay home and help your mother pass out candy.”

John stilled.  “And _then_ go trick-or-treating?”

Dad shook his head.  “ _Instead of_ trick-or-treating.  You’re a big boy now, John.  There are certain... skills you need to begin to acquire now.”

John stared down at his lap.  Tears began to blur his vision.  “B-but Alex and Frannie and I made plans.  We’re gonna be pirates.  And go trick-or-treating.”

“You’re just too old to be trick-or-treating.  And playing dress-up.  You’ll hand out candy with your mother, and she’ll teach you some other things, too.”  He sighed.  “Don’t cry, John.”

John stood.  “It’s because I’m an _Omega_ , isn’t it!”

“John-”

“You never let me do _anything_ fun because I’m an Omega!”

“ _John, that’s enough_.”

John tensed, mouth closing.  He was still crying.  He hated it when Dad did that.

“As an Omega, you have more responsibilities.  You’ll thank me when you’re older.”

“I hate being an Omega!” John sobbed.  “I hate _you_!”

“Go to your room.”

John stomped off, wiping his eyes angrily.  He went into his bedroom and curled up on his bed, crying into his pillow.  He wanted to hit something, but the last time he’d done that, he accidentally broke a vase and Mama had grounded him.  He didn’t want to be grounded again.

Although, as far as he was concerned, he _was_ being grounded.  Even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.  John didn’t respond, and he heard it open.  “Jack?  Honey, what’s wrong?”

John started crying again.  “I wanna go trick-or-treating!”

Mama sighed and sat down next to him, running a hand through his hair.  “I’m sorry, baby.”

“Why is he so mean?”

“He’s not...”  Another sigh, deeper this time.  “He’s not mean, Jacky.  He just wants you to get a head start on learning the skills you’ll need for later in life.”

“But why do I have to start learning on _Halloween_?”

Mama didn’t answer.  She just remained next to him, rubbing circles into his back.  “I’m sorry.  But, hey, what if we made cookies tomorrow?  Just the two of us.  And we can decorate pumpkins.”

“We already did that.”

“We can do it again.  And we can watch Halloween movies _all night long_ , if you want to.”

John sat up and wiped his eyes, still sniffling.  “Can we make chocolate chip cookies?”

Mama nodded, a smile forming on her face.

“With the orange-colored ones?”

Another nod.  “We can have all kinds of fun, just the two of us.”

“Do Marty and Junior get to go?”

Mama hesitated, then said, “Yes.”

John looked down at his lap.  “He hates me, doesn’t he?”

Mama pulled him close.  “No, no, honey.  Your father doesn’t hate you.  He’s never hated you.  He loves you very much.”

“Then why didn’t he come to Bring Your Dad to Class day?  He wasn’t working.”

“Just because you’re not working doesn’t mean you’re not busy.”  When John started crying again, she held him tighter and rocked him gently.  “He doesn’t do it on purpose, Jack.  And just because he can’t come to every single event doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you.”

“He went to Marty’s science fair last week.”

“He wasn’t busy then.  Daddy’s working very hard to win the election.  He needs to devote all of his time to that.”

“What if he loses?”

“Then he’ll be very upset.”  She brushed his curly hair out of his face.  “And he’ll need us more than ever.”  She pressed a kiss to his forehead.  “He loves you so much.”

John hugged her, leaning into her shoulder.  “I made plans with Alex and Frannie.  For tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Can I go to their house and tell them?”

Mama nodded, relinquishing her hold on him.  “That’s probably a good idea.”

John went over to the Washingtons’, wiping his eyes before knocking.  Mrs. Washington answered and let him in.  “Hi, John.  How are you today?”

He didn’t want to answer that.  His lower lip trembled.  “Can I - can I talk to Frannie and Alex, please?”

Alex bounded around the corner before she got the chance to answer, throwing his arms around John and hugging him.  “Hi!  Do you wanna play?”

John took a deep breath.  He didn’t want to start crying again.  He needed to be a big boy.  At least, that’s what his father said.  “I need to talk to you and Frannie about tomorrow.”

“Why?  What’s wrong?”

John’s chin trembled.  “I need to talk to you both,” he repeated.  Alex frowned, but took him upstairs, knocking on Frannie’s door.  She answered a moment later, and greeted John with a huge smile.  He tried to return it, but it looked more like a grimace.

“John?”

He looked down at his feet, trying to mask the sniffle.  This wasn’t _fair_.  “Dad says I can’t go trick-or-treating anymore.”

“What?” Frannie gasped.  “Why?”

“I’m too old.”

There was a moment of silence.  “But I’m older than you,” Frannie said, “and _I_ get to go.”

“I think it’s just my dad.”  John couldn’t look up.  “Mama says he doesn’t hate me, but I think he does.”

“Dads aren’t supposed to _hate_ ,” Frannie said.  “I don’t think he’s a good dad if he hates you.”

John nodded slowly.  “I can’t go trick-or-treating anymore, though.  I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Alex said.  “It’s not your fault.  Maybe we can come over to your house afterward tomorrow?  We can still play.”

“I think Mama would be okay with that.”  He wasn’t going to ask until Dad had taken Marty and Junior out, though.  He didn’t want to risk him overhearing and saying no.  Because if Dad said no, then the answer was _no_.  “She said I could watch movies all night if I wanted.  And we’re baking cookies.”

“That sounds fun.”

John still didn’t feel much better, but he didn’t feel worse, either.  “Is Laf going out this year?”  He hadn’t gone last year because he was scared.  John didn’t know why, but he felt like it’d be wrong to ask.

Alex nodded, smiling.  “He’s going to be a lion.”

John returned the smile.  Frannie leaned against her doorframe, frowning at John.  “What?” John asked.

“It’s not fair.”

“I know.  But I can’t do anything about it.”  He pushed his hair from his face.  “He said that I’ve got to learn some skills.”

He didn’t even know what he meant by that.  Nor did he understand what _extra responsibilities_ he had as an Omega.  He wanted to ask Frannie or Alex, but he couldn’t.  Dad said that his class was supposed to be a secret until he presented.  And that wouldn’t happen for at least three more years.  Maybe more.  It was fine, though.  Dad had never told him outright that being an Omega was bad, but John knew that there had to be _something_ wrong with it.  And he didn’t want anyone to know that there was something wrong with him.

Although, Mama was an Omega, and John loved her.  So maybe it was just him.  He didn’t know.  Everything was so confusing.

John saw the clock in Frannie’s room and panic rose in his chest.  It was almost five o’clock.  He needed to get home to help with dinner.  He didn’t want Dad to be even angrier with him than he already was.

* * *

 

“Mama?” John said Halloween night, just after they’d put the cookies in the oven.  “Am I bad?”

“Of course not, honey.  Why would you think that?”

John shrugged.  “It’s just... is it wrong to be an Omega?”

Mama stilled and her face changed.  For an instant, she looked so _angry_.  But then she took a breath and placed her hands on John’s shoulders.  “There is nothing wrong with being an Omega.  Nothing at all.  Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Did someone say something to you?”

He shook his head.  “Just... I don’t think Dad -”

“Your father loves you.”

“But I don’t think he likes Omegas.  Which I don’t get.  Because _you’re_ an Omega, too, and you’re good.”  He didn’t know how else to describe her, even though _good_ wasn’t, well, good enough.

Mama turned back to the sink and began washing the dishes.  “He’s not...  He doesn’t dislike Omegas, Jack.  There’s nothing wrong with being an Omega.”

“So why doesn’t Dad want me to tell anyone?”

She handed him a dish to dry and repeated, “There’s nothing wrong with being an Omega.  Remember that, okay?”

“Why?”

Mama looked like she was about to answer, then shook her head once.  “It’s just important.  It’s okay to be who you are.”  She wiped her hands off and then ruffled his hair, kissed his forehead.  “You’re a great kid, Jack.  And you’re going to be even greater when you’re all grown up.  I can’t wait to see it.”

John smiled at her.  Everyone kept talking about when he grew up.  But being an adult sounded boring.  He wanted to be able to have fun.  And adults never had fun.  At least, not from what he could tell.

When the cookies came out of the oven, they made another couple of batches so John could give some away to his friends, then they curled up on the couch and watched _Hocus Pocus_ , only stopping when the doorbell would ring.  John held onto his stuffed turtle, which Lafayette had given him for his birthday, for the movie’s entirety, wondering when he’d have to give _him_ up, too.  Because adults couldn’t sleep with stuffed animals.

James started crying halfway through the movie, and Mama got up to take care of him.  She didn’t come back down until after it was over.  “Finally got him to bed,” she explained.

“What skills am I supposed to learn?”

“What, baby?”

“Dad said that I needed to stay home so I could learn skills.”

She frowned and glanced at the television as the last of the credits rolled.  “He wants you to learn to take care of the house.”

“Take care of it?”

“Like I do.  He knows that you’ll someday have a house like this, and children of your own, to take care of.  And he wants to make sure you know how to do that.”

“I don’t want children.  They’re loud and messy.”

“You might change your mind.”

“Am I learning right now?”

She thought for a moment.  “Well, you helped me with the dishes.  And with passing out candy.  That’s _two_ adult-ish things that you’re going to have to do on your own eventually.”

The doorbell rang, and John got up to answer it, grabbing the bowl of candy.

It was Alex and Frannie.  They were wearing their pirate costumes.  Frannie had a hook for a hand and an eyepatch.  Alex had a fancy hat with a feather in it.

“Hi, John!” Frannie said.

“You guys look great,” John said, holding out the bowl.  “Here.”

They didn’t reach for any candy.  Instead, they came inside, nudging John out of the way.  “We’ve been thinking.  It’s not fair that you didn’t get to go trick-or-treating.  Because there was a lot of candy.”

“The Petersons were handing out full-sized Milky Ways,” Alex chirped.

Milky Ways were John’s favorite.  He made himself smile, though.  “That’s great.  Mama and I made cookies.  With orange-colored chips.”

“That sounds so yummy,” Frannie said.  They pulled John into the living room, sitting down on the floor.  Mama smiled at them.  “Can we stay here for a couple of minutes?” Frannie asked.

“Of course.”

Frannie and Alex dumped their candy out on the rug and began sorting it.  John couldn’t bear to watch.

Then he noticed that they were sorting into three piles instead of two.  “What are you doing?”

They pushed one of the piles towards him.  “Just because you can’t go trick-or-treating doesn’t mean you can’t have any of the candy.”

John shook his head.  “No, guys.  Don’t.  You earned that.”

“But we want to give some to you.  And don’t argue,” Frannie said.  “It’s _our_ candy, and we get to choose what to do with it.  So we’re giving it to you.”

John looked down at the pile, then pulled them both into a hug.  “You guys are the best friends I’ve ever had.”

Maybe this Halloween wasn’t so bad, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> So what do you think? Let me know!  
> And also come stalk me on my tumblr! [@PandaPantsLovesYou](https://pandapantslovesyou.tumblr.com)  
> And, hey, new chapter of [Disillusioned](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12379977/chapters/28162719) in less than twenty-four hours!


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